> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://revhero.gitbook.io/revhero-docs/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://revhero.gitbook.io/revhero-docs/automation/rate-recommendations/reading-the-explanation.md).

# Why this rate: reading the explanation

How to read the explanation that comes with each recommended rate, and what to check when it surprises you.

Every recommended rate comes with an explanation. It shows what pushed the rate up and what pushed it down, so you can decide whether to accept it without guessing.

To open it, select the information icon **ⓘ** next to a recommended rate.

## What the explanation shows

The explanation starts from your **Send Rate** for the date. That is the rate you are selling at today. It then shows how each group of factors moved the recommendation away from your **Send Rate**, in euros.

A plus amount pushed the rate up. A minus amount pushed it down.

| Group           | What it covers                                                 |
| --------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Performance** | How the date is selling compared with the same point last year |
| **Pickup**      | Your recent bookings for the date                              |
| **Market**      | Demand in your market, and interest in your own property       |
| **Seasonality** | The time of year, weekends and holidays                        |
| **Competition** | Your competitors' prices for the date                          |
| **Min Rate**    | Shown only when your **Min Rate** changed the recommendation   |
| **Max Rate**    | Shown only when your **Max Rate** changed the recommendation   |

When your **Min Rate** or **Max Rate** changed the rate, that row shows the rate Revhero would have recommended and the rate it was held to. For example:

> Recommended rate would have been €120 → Capped at €132

See [your minimum rate](/revhero-docs/automation/rate-recommendations/what-it-considers/minimum-rate.md) for what to do when this happens often.

## Read it as a reason, not a sum

The amounts show the size and the direction of each push. They are a guide to why the rate moved. They are not a calculation that adds up exactly to the recommended rate, and you do not need to check them that way.

Look at the largest amounts first. They tell you what mattered most for that date.

## Check the biggest push against what you know

The explanation is most useful when a recommendation surprises you. Find the group that pushed hardest, then check it on the screen that shows the same thing.

| The biggest push is          | Check                                                                                                                                                                |
| ---------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Pickup**                   | Your [Pickup](/revhero-docs/your-hotels-performance/dashboard/pickup.md) for the date. A single large booking or cancellation can explain it on its own              |
| **Performance**              | Your occupancy and rate against last year on [Daily Performance](/revhero-docs/your-hotels-performance/daily-performance.md)                                         |
| **Market**                   | [Online Demand](/revhero-docs/your-hotels-performance/dashboard/online-demand-per-day.md) for the date                                                               |
| **Seasonality**              | Your own diary. Is there an event, a holiday or a local closure that Revhero cannot see?                                                                             |
| **Competition**              | [Market Rates](/revhero-docs/roompulse/market-rates.md) in RoomPulse. Check whether a competitor really moved, or whether a cheaper room type is now showing instead |
| **Min Rate** or **Max Rate** | Your price range for that period. See [your minimum rate](/revhero-docs/automation/rate-recommendations/what-it-considers/minimum-rate.md)                           |

If the push matches what you see, accept the recommendation. If it comes from something you know is a one-off, such as a group that cancelled or a booking you are about to move, set your own rate instead.

## When the rate does not move

A recommendation can equal your **Send Rate**. Often the pushes up and the pushes down balance out. Revhero also holds the rate on any date where the whole hotel is sold out.

If a date sits on your **Min Rate** or **Max Rate** day after day, the explanation shows the rate Revhero would have recommended. That gap tells you whether your range, not your demand, is deciding the rate.

## Related

* [How recommendations work](/revhero-docs/automation/rate-recommendations/how-it-works.md)
* [What a recommendation considers](/revhero-docs/automation/rate-recommendations/what-it-considers.md)
* [Recommended Rate Settings](/revhero-docs/automation/rate-recommendations/recommendation-settings.md)

***

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